What the Wedding Gift?

I don’t know if I am a weirdo….wait…yes I do.  I am totally weird and one of my quirks is that I get seriously stressed out about wedding gifts.  I always want to make sure that it’s nice and enough and something useful and something that won’t be returned and something the couple will love and keep FOREVER.  That is why I love registries.  I can navigate the aisles of Bed Bath & Beyond like a pro.  I can pick a thing off the registry at Target and know exactly what aisle it will be on.  I own Walmart.  Crate & Barrel doesn’t have a chance.  So you can imagine my frustration when my little brother Tim & Jessica didn’t register for ENOUGH.  GEESH people don’t you know that this wedding is about me and my gift giving experience?!  They literally had 9 things on the list and received all of them for their shower.  NINE.  I have like nine things on each aisle that I want.

So I thought it would be fun to talk about my thought process when it came to buying them something for their big day.  I was unarmed with a list.  I was exposed to the elements.  I basically risked my life for this post

The first thing you should know is that they had a rustic barn theme going on.  It was a super fun location.  I also know that my brother would never spend money on home stuff….but Jessica wants to spruce up their abode…so I went with something to make her happy.  Happy wife, happy life, right?!

I decided to go with Target purchases because that is a place they did register and I figured that if they needed to return other stuff, it could help to make one big trip.   My budget was $150 and here is what I got…

The first thing that caught my eye was the big woven basket.  It would be great for holding all the other presents, for stashing dog toys or having a big throw.  Storage is never a bad idea!  Then I picked up the absolute last thing on their list – a clothing steamer – because obviously you should get them something they want  I know that my brother’s house doesn’t have a foyer and so the hanging shelf/hook rack is a great idea for coats, leashes, and keys.  The portable Pyrex container thing is not something they will use everyday but it does come in handy when family gathers together for holidays and when they get old like me  And lastly I grabbed that adorable textured pillow.  It’s so pretty and I know that Jessica will love it.  They didn’t get the something cute….I kept that for myself.

I fit the biggest three gifts inside the basket and then I did the pillow in the gift bag.  The boys love carrying presents and I figured the pillow could be from them

I love the little chalkboard on the basket and think it’s such a great idea to do T+J or a heart or a wedding ring emoji or just CONGRATS!

And yes, I wrapped all the exposed presents in wood grain paper.  It goes with the barn theme!!!  And the teal ribbon is just like her maid of honor’s dress

So what do you do when it’s time to gift a lucky couple and they don’t have a registry?  Are you a cash in an envelope person?  Are you a monogrammed tote bag person?  Are you a gift card gal or an anything goes type?  I’d love to hear because you know…this is life and death here people.

p.s. some of you asked for a step-by-step of the Painters pen project and I added a little clip video…it’s all I had people so go to the end of the next post to check it out.